The End is the Begining
by angelofpeaceandwar045
Summary: Our fate is made by our choices, with pain being the most common outcome. Each of us knows only that and the fighting that follows. We will find an abundance in the coming war. Post DA and DA 2. AU. Multiple Wardens.


**Bioware owns DA. I own the OC, don't touch them. **

The beast was cautious, each step she took was careful. She did not want to alert her prey, death would follow if she did. The wolf was sneaking onto an unsuspecting man, he had no knowledge of her presence and he wouldn't until it would be too late. She had been following him since the early morning, and now into the night she was ready. This wolf, this Pup, was ready for her first taste of killing. Her mother had taught her everything she knew, despite their comfort in life, so she could be ready. It would be only a matter of time until the Chantry would find them and put them to the stake.

Ever since the incident in Kirkwall, mages everywhere were being butchered. Templars showed no mercy and in return they received none. Both sides of the war were suffering from the brutality brought on by one another. Mages were given the comfort of blood drenched blades and binding ropes before the kiss of burning flames. Their persecutors received similar comforts, the warmth of frost and pacifying notion of their innards turning into jelly.

This Pup was no exception; if anything she would suffer the most. Her mother had not allowed her to be a child since rumors of rebellion were being whispered throughout their palace. At the same time her training in the art of magic had intensified. Before she only knew how to set sparks of fire, now, a year later, she was shape-shifting into a wolf and was practicing the bear-shape. She even knew how to control three elements at a formidable level. Fire and frost were her weak compared to her strength with lightning. She already proved her with that element.

Despite her training, she had yet to take a life. It would be something she would have to do soon and knew it needed to be sooner, rather than later.

The pup continued through the brush, each of her steps more precise than the last. The man in front of her grew larger and suddenly it was not the only one in front of her, instead she found three. She flinched and wondered why she didn't catch their scent earlier but ignored her anger. The kill would be only more rewarding, fulfilling. Her game would not so be easy.

The first one, a dwarf with a bright red beard, appeared to be in a bulky armor. Although it was black and fearsome, it paled in comparison to what he wielded in his hand. A cruel and painful looking axe was lying across his lap, the weapon was taller than its owner but he gazed at it with surety and pride. The dwarf was an obvious butcher, the way he leered at the steel said that and more.

The second companion, an elf, was sitting close to the man, with her hand on his lap. The pup was curious as to what she was doing with her hand there and felt it was something adults only did. The elfess was wearing armor lighter than both of her companions, it left most of her upper body exposed, only covering her breasts, and the lower half was cut off well above her knees. The pup wasn't sure if it could be called armor at all. The woman also carried a staff, similar to her mother's, it appeared crafted from some sort of wood. She also had long blonde hair and strange marking on her face.

Finally the man, who had moved his own hand towards the elf's lap, did not seem so massive had he had before. Of course he was taller than both of the companions he traveled with but he appeared less broad than the dwarf and seemed rather skinny. He bore only simple black clothes, his pale skin and blue eyes were illuminated by the fire. He also had a longbow lying beside him; he could easily grab it and shoot her if she exposed herself from this distance.

The pup crept closer, she could feel the anticipation. She did not know whether it was good or bad that she was nervous.

_Crack._

She paused as she felt the twig break; her pulse quickened and her heart felt as if it was going to explode. Her nerves were getting the best of her until she realized that the trio had no even looked in her direction. All of them were still focused on what they were doing before.

With her nerves steeled once more, she continued through the brush pausing once more. She smelled something.

There was something else in the air, something strange. She knew what the three in front of her smelled of. The dwarf of reeking spirits, the elf of forest and dirt and the man of sweat and blood. The scent was something else entirely

_No, she is not her, _her thoughts drifted to her caretaker. The old woman, Katherine, wasn't in the forest and the pup left her behind at the castle. _Mother is there too. _The pup tried to think more of what she was in the air but stopped.

Loud barking began to fill her ears; aMabari War Hound had caught her scent. The trio scrambled to arms, each of them ready to attack. The pup was caught. If she tried to flee, the hound would chase her and catch her and eventually kill her. If she changed back to her human form, there was nothing she could do but either run or play the part of a lost child.

The pup had her two choices, flee and die or expose herself and hope for the best. She chose the latter and stood up.

"Don't hurt me," she called out as she scrambled from the brush.

"Who are you," the man with the bow already had an arrow strung. He lowered it and looked at the girl.

"I'm lost m'Ser," the pup began to play. She knew here only hope was to use the tricks her mother had taught her. "I was outside playing and well…"

"Here you are lost in the woods," the elf said. She didn't appear to believe the pup's story. She appeared quicker than her companion. "How convenient," She could already tell the girl was a mage.

"Don't hurt me," she begged. Even she believed her own words. "I'm scared and I want to go home." That was not a lie.

"Where would that be," the dwarf slurred. "You live in some fancy castle. Where'd you get th…those fancy clothes?"

The pup looked down and saw that her silken dress was relatively spotless, only stained at the knees from where she was crouching. She could not help but look in fear, her only option now appeared to be her magic but she was unsure on whether or not to use it.

If she did the elf, her senior in both years and power, could easily best her or the archer would shoot her with one of his many arrows or the dwarf would charge her and cut her down.

The pup felt those three choices were far better than what she expected to happen. Lighting began to form in her hands and she planned on striking…

"That's enough," a voice called out.

The pup turned her heads towards the voice came and saw a man appear from the darkness. She knew by the way he carried himself that he was their leader; he was intimidating and menacing by his stance alone. The weapons he carried and scars he bore had only made him more depraved. He wielded a large sword, pup recognized it and thought it was similar to that of her bodyguards but his looked heavier and half of it looked broken. His face was worse, much worse. It took all of her control to not scream.

"Now what are you doing here," the stern voice he used moments ago had faded and had now been replaced by a nurturing voice. "This isn't the place for a child." His companions scoffed in agreement.

Pup did not respond and she kept her eyes on him. He seemed somewhat familiar.

"I take it your scared," he began to approach her. It took him only a few steps until he was kneeling right beside her, his hand on her shoulder. She couldn't tell if he was trying to stop her from running, something she no longer planned to do. "You needn't."

Pup stared into his eye, dark green. It was darker than the emerald necklace her mother had given her a year ago, the same color her eyes were.

"It's alright, child," he began to ruffle her hair with his gloved hand. His hand was as smooth as her mother's dragon skin gauntlets. "Are you okay, pup?"

Her eyes widened, she could not believe he knew her mother's name for her. "How did you know that?"

"How did I know what," the tension from moments ago had now dwindled to nothing.

"My name, how did you know that," she demanded from him. She then noticed the war-hound walking into view. It was larger than the few she had seen but was not menacing. It simply looked at her with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. It was more of a playful gesture than defensive one, yet she knew that could change in a breath.

"What are you saying, is your name Pup," the man snickered. Those who followed him simply stood watching him, bewildered at the sight before them. "If it is, I believe that you must be the first."

"Of course 'tis not my name," she pouted. The way she scowled at him caused the dwarf to laugh.

"Ah, looks like she's got a pair of stones on her, I like the kid." This time he didn't slur.

"Of course you do," the man smiled. "If it's any comfort I'll tell you mine name if you tell me yours, do we have a deal."

Pup hesitated for a moment but quickly nodded, "Agreed."

"My name is Tristan," He rapped his knuckles across his leather armor, against the insignia. It was an image of two branches intertwined; she knew it was a symbol of a noble family but could not summon the name on from her tongue. "And my companions here, each of them are Grey Wardens."

Pup's eyes widened even more. She could not believe she had been following a Grey Warden and had managed to sneak up on to three of them, if what he told her was true. Her mother would be proud, if not angry.

One by one they gave her their name. The dwarf was called Oghren and he hailed from Orzammar. The elf, Velanna, was from the Brecilian Forest, she said her new home was in Amaranthine and that the other human, Nathaniel, did as well.

After their introductions, Pup could not retrain herself. "Are you here to meet Celene," she could not help herself in asking the obvious. Rumors had spread through the castle of important envoys from Ferelden, some of them were of Grey Wardens and others mentioned that the Hero of Ferelden, himself, was coming to meet the Empress.

The change in his expression caused Pup to jump. His smile broadened and he shook his head with amusement.

"You're curious, aren't you?" The serenity in his voice sounded as if he was forcing it.

"My mother often complains about it, she says I get that from my father," she was earnest. Her mother often complained about her constant questions about everything, most importantly when it was in regards to him.

"My mother did the same thing, but to answer your question," he wiped the cloth covering the left side of his face. It was worn and pure grey, she assumed it hid an old wound. "Yes, they're here on business for the Wardens."

"I've heard rumors throughout the castle," Pup remembered it was something all the servants and guards were gossiping about. The Grey Wardens were famous. They rode Griffins and fought Darkspawn. One had even killed the Archdemon, and he was the first to survive. "I'm surprised to see they're true."

"Well since you're familiar with the castle and Empress, may I ask you why you're here?" Tristan gently grabbed her hand and led her towards the fire. It was far warmer, being arm's length from a flame than in the middle of the brush.

Pup could feel all of their eyes on her, two of them were comforting and the third, the elf's was aggressive. Velanna saw through the rouse, her gaze said that much.

"Now, Pup," Tristan reached into a small pouch and pulled out an apple. A knife, of simple craft, soon appeared in his other hand. "Why are you here in the woods?"

Nothing came from her lips.

"Well if you don't wish to talk," he gave her a half of the fruit. "You don't need to but I'm not letting you leave here…"

With those words she reacted. She turned to run but froze. The Mabari was sitting behind her. His haunches in the air and eyes fixed on her. Feeling cornered, she turned to her magic but once more stood in place. Tristan's hand made its way back to her shoulder. He kept a gentle grip there. One, she knew, could turn violent at a pause but he did nothing but calm her.

"As I was saying child, I won't allow you to venture off on your own. A night in the forest alone isn't something a child should experience," he bit into his apple. Juices flowed down his chin hairs as he continued. "We'll take you home in the morning, but for now you can sit here at the fire."

Pup did as he said. She did not know whether it was out of fear of him or the safety he offered. The dead oak became her seat once more, its wood uncomforting against her dress. The light illuminated off her face and she felt something tap her.

The Mabari was tapping at her, seeking attention. She scoffed as she turned back to the fire and silence it offered. Pup hated dogs, especially Mabaris. They were nothing more than flea infested mongrels that did nothing more than eat or lick themselves. At least all the ones she had seen had not lifted up to the stories she had heard. Her father's, according to her mother, was a lap dog most days until the fighting started. Once that had happened, he would show off his tenacity and ferocity, just like her father.

"He likes you," Nathaniel whispered. Pup noticed several braided strands of hair over his face. "He normally doesn't like strangers." His voice was gruff and experienced. Her tutor would enjoy his company.

Pup didn't bother responding, her focus would be towards the fire, the warm and whispering fire. Fate, however, did not wish such things.

The hound trotted around her and took a seat at her feet, his head lying on top of them.

"Hah," the dwarf shouted. "The dog likes you."

"I know," she groaned. Her attempts at shooing him away ended with her hands being covered in his drool. "Not leave me alone you foolish mutt."

The hound, once more, whined but he continued to persist.

"Leave me alone," her voice echoed off the trees. She, once more, drew attention to herself. Her newfound companions could not help but feel helping her was a mistake.

**This is the unofficial continuation of my previous fic, Whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on. This occurs after the game and is how I envision the world of Thedas after the events I imagined taking place instead of those in the game. It will pick up in the next few chapters. Don't expect anything uplifting or happy, I'm not that kind of writer. **


End file.
